Three Birds, Seven Stories, Interpolations and Bifurcations, 2008

CommentaryVery pure black marble from Belgium has been exploited since the Belgian provinces (formerly Wallonia) were part of the Roman Empire. The stone, formed 360 million years ago, was dug from underground mines and was commonly used in Italy at the Florentine Medici workshops founded in 1588 and by Italian craftsmen in the realisation of intarsia (inlay) decoration at the Taj Mahal, India, built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. In Northern Europe Belgian black marble (Noir Belge) was often used for stairs, flooring and fireplaces in conjunction with white marble imported from Carrara, Italy. In the 1920’s and 1930’s Constantin Brancusi used the rare stone to carve a number of versions of the sculpture Bird in Space, its pure, vain-free quality suiting the almost machine-like finish of the sculptures. Belgian black marble is no longer commercially produced.

Very pure black marble from Belgium has been exploited since the Belgian provinces (formerly Wallonia) were part of the Roman Empire. The stone, formed 360 million years ago, was dug from underground mines and was commonly used in Italy at the Florentine Medici workshops founded in 1588 and by Italian craftsmen in the realisation of intarsia (inlay) decoration at the Taj Mahal, India, built by Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. In Northern Europe Belgian black marble (Noir Belge) was often used for stairs, flooring and fireplaces in conjunction with white marble imported from Carrara, Italy. In the 1920’s and 1930’s Constantin Brancusi used the rare stone to carve a number of versions of the sculpture Bird in Space, its pure, vain-free quality suiting the almost machine-like finish of the sculptures. Belgian black marble is no longer commercially produced.